President Biden signed the Historic Infrastructure Act this week. And right in the middle: the Biden government’s belief in the importance of nuclear power.
“We are very optimistic about these advanced nuclear reactors,” said Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm at the recent UN climate conference. “We actually invested a lot of money in the research and development of these reactors.”
There is now government funding to put shovels in the ground for new test facilities:
“We plan to move dirt as early as 2023,” said Benjamin Reinke, senior director of a company for the development of nuclear reactors and fuels. “We’re going to need a lot of manpower for this project. Pipeline builders and construction workers of all kinds. “
But not everyone is so sure of what nuclear power promises.
“I don’t think right now you can know how much these new power plants will cost, whether they will have a reliable fuel supply,” said Allison Macfarlane, former chairman of the Nuclear Oversight Commission.
On Point Today: Nuclear Power and America’s Clean Energy Future.
Guests
Ernest Moniz, Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Former US Secretary of Energy. (@ErnestMoniz)
Allison Macfarlane, Director of the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Former chairman of the Nuclear Supervision Commission. Author of “Uncertainty Underground”. (@allisonmacfar)
Rita Baranwal, Vice President of Nuclear Power and Chief Nuclear Officer at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a nonprofit organization. Former Deputy Secretary in the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Power Bureau. (@ RitaB66)
Also recommended
Benjamin Reinke, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at X-energy, a nuclear reactor and fuel development company.
From the reading list
The hill: “When it comes to infrastructure and clean energy, America has to play to win” – “The Rural Electrification Act came into effect this month 85 years ago. It was a visionary infrastructure program for the 20th century, at the heart of a federal energy investment strategy that brought growth and prosperity to the South, the West and all of rural America. “
Comments are closed.